494 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



small thing to present a paper in a section where so many famous men 

 sat as could be seen in section A at almost any time of its sitting. And 

 it is no small credit to British men of science that this great gathering 

 is preserved from year to year in undiminished enthusiasm. 



Is it possible to make of the American Association such a gather- 

 ing, or rather to restore to it its representative character? May we 

 expect to gather to it the well-known men of science, the ambitious 

 students and the scientific public? 



Many things make against such a result in America which are here 

 favorable to it. The small distances to be traveled in Great Britain 

 make it easy and cheap for any member to come to the meetings. 

 Again the British Association flourishes and gains its influence in the 

 midst of a social regime entirely differnt from that which holds in our 

 country. But in addition to all this are the differences in scientific 

 training which prompt the American investigator, whether in pure 

 or applied science, to prefer the society of his fellow experts to any 

 gathering of a general character however attractive it may be by reason 

 of the presence of scientific, political or social celebrities. That which 

 makes the success of the British Association possible is at once the weak- 

 ness as well as the strength of British science, and the influences which 

 make these meetings what they are are intimately connected with the 

 educational and social conditions which exist in England. 



But if there is anything which would bring back once more to the 

 American Association its old-time prestige and its old-time influence, 

 it would be some such devotion to the cause, which the association rep- 

 resents, as has been shown by many of the leading men of science in 

 England. Of all this group perhaps no other one has done so much 

 as Lord Kelvin. For half a century this splendid old man (loved no 

 less for his sweetness than honored for his genius) has been a promi- 

 nent figure at these annual gatherings. Year after year he has not 

 only presented his own brilliant contributions and taken his part in 

 the discussions, but there has scarcely been presented in all these years, 

 in the subjects in which he stands preeminent, a worthy paper by a 

 struggling younger man whom this Nestor of British science has not 

 encouraged by his words of praise or of friendly advice given in the 

 most kindly and helpful spirit. The example and influence of such a 

 man are beyond praise, and however we may criticize English science, 

 and English methods of education, we may well hope to learn of her 

 many things so long as she produces men like Kelvin. If anything 

 can make of the American Association a new center of inspiration for 

 younger men, a fresh source of popular education, a means of closer 

 union of our scientific interests, it will come only as the result of 

 some such unselfish service as Kelvin's on the part of the best known 

 men of science in America. 



